


A moral dilemma about using your superhero persona to endorse yourself

by DubDubDoubles



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: F/F, F/M, Fashion show shenanigans, Fluff, Friendship, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-12-11
Updated: 2017-02-04
Packaged: 2018-09-07 19:58:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 15,001
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8814274
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DubDubDoubles/pseuds/DubDubDoubles
Summary: Alternatively, the superheroes of Paris break the internet.





	1. Alya always gets what she wants

**Author's Note:**

> Basically, this is just fun fluff and friendship of the four best friends and superheroes of Paris, post reveal. Hope you enjoy my first fanfiction that I started instead of studying for my finals!

“So what do you think?”

Marinette flipped through some of the pictures on her phone of her latest designs. Next to her, Alya squealed in delight, especially at the last one.

“Girl, is that a dress inspired by Reine Rena?” Marinette nodded and Alya squeezed her friend into a hug.

“There’s stuff inspired by all of us. Look, I managed to replicate Chat Noir’s boots into something that could be worn by a fan. Or knee socks of cats and foxes. And look at this sweater with the turtle shell shoulder pads.”

“These are amazing, Marinette. Have you shown Adrien or Nino yet?”

“I wanted you to be the first person to see them. Except for Tikki of course.”

Said kwami giggled and flew out of Marinette’s purse to bop Alya’s nose, “It’s hard for her to keep things from me, though she did try!” Alya affectionately rubbed rubbed Tikki’s head.

As if she had sensed her chosen giving another kwami affection, Trixx zipped out of Alya’s backpack to nuzzle herself in Alya’s bun. She pulled the bun forward so she could watch as Alya continued to go through the pictures on Marinette’s phone.

“There’s not enough of my girl and too much of Plagg’s boy.” She whined.

Marinette snatched her phone back, “Well he is my boyfriend.” She flipped through the pictures again, “I would have loved for Adrien to model some of this stuff, but I couldn’t have him do the Chat Noir clothes. It would be too obvious!” Marinette buried her head in Alya’s shoulder, “So now I have to find new models and do a photo-shoot! Save me, Alya!”

Alya laughed and patted her best friend’s head, “Don’t worry girl, Alya Cèsaire is on the case!”

Marinette’s muffled voice came from Alya’s shoulder, “I need to get these models soon because my portfolio is due in a month!”

Alya's eyes widened and she quickly sat up, knocking her friend off the bed, “Marinette, we can model.”

A disgruntled Marinette picked herself up and stared at Alya in confusion, “If Adrien can’t model that means none of us can. It would give everything away!”

“No, we don’t model as Adrien and Alya and Nino and Marinette. Have the heroes of Paris model for you.” Alya’s eyes lit up in excitement as Marinette’s filled with dread.

“Alya.”

“It would be super easy to explain. I mean Chat and you have a public friendship and everyone knows you redesigned our suits. So you just say you asked for a favor.”

“Alya.”

“It would make your designs famous, and we could auction some of them off afterwards. Donate some money to charity and pay your college tuition and-”

Marinette cut her off, “Alya, we can’t.”

“Give me one good reason why not.” Alya crossed her arms and leveled Marinette with the glare that Reine Rena was famous for. “No one will guess that we’re putting on a fashion show of ourselves, and it would be amazing for all of us.” She raised an eyebrow in a silent challenge.

Marinette gulped, realizing that arguing with Alya was a lost cause but decided to go for it anyway. “I would have to model.”

Alya scoffed, “Duh. You can’t have a photo-shoot of the Heroes of Paris without Ladybug. Also, you need more Ladybug clothes. I saw maybe five things.”

“I thought it would be arrogant if I was inspired by myself!”

Alya sighed and took Marinette’s face in her hands, “Marinette Dupain-Cheng, fashion designer and baker extraordinaire. Ladybug, savior of Paris. Mari, best friend to the amazing Alya. Why wouldn’t you be inspired by yourself?”

* * *

 

The next night was Jade Turtle’s and Ladybug’s night to patrol, and Ladybug’s feet had just barely touched the roof the heroes had declared their meeting place when Jade blurted out, “We are totally doing that photo-shoot.”

Ladybug rolled her eyes, and turned to leave. “Not happening.” She lassoed a nearby streetlamp and prepared to jump.

Jade caught her wrist, before she could swing away into the night. “Mari. I want to see Alya in that dress.”

“She’s your girlfriend. Just ask her to wear it.”

“But I want everyone to know that that’s my girlfriend. Who looks like that. In that very specific dress.”

Marinette turned back to him, “No one knows that Jade Turtle and Reine Rena are dating.” She started to try and pull her wrist from Nino, but years of hero-work gave him a remarkably strong grip.

Nino grinned at her struggle, “Do you not understand how much fun it is for me to watch Reine Rena break everyone’s hearts?”

Marinette rolled her eyes again and finally pulled her wrist from Nino, “It’s still not happening.” She sat down on the edge of the roof, staring down at the street below, legs dangling in the open air.

He groaned as he plopped down beside her, “Marinette, don’t you see what this could do for you?”

She ran a hand through her short bob and readjusted her headband, “Whatever the rest of you do, I’m not going to use the image of Ladybug to help myself.”

“Do you know how many new subscribers I got after Chat let it slip that he was a huge fan of my songs?” Nino pulled his shield off of his back and flung it out into the night.

“How many?”

Nino held out his hand and the magic of the miraculous called it back into his hand.

“Over two hundred thousand.” He threw the shield again and they watched it disappear in the dark, “How many commissions did you get after Chat revealed that you, Marinette Dupain-Cheng, were the one who redesigned our suits so we look even hotter than before?”

“It doubled, if not tripled,” Marinette was forced to admit.

Nino caught his shield and swung it onto his back, “Okay so let’s think about what this photo-shoot could do for us personally. We release previews on Alya’s blog and build a ton of hype. That would bring Alya more hits and money from ads and stuff. We release videos of us goofing around and informal interviews and stuff. Put one of my mixes in the background or something. We could make a joke video of Adrien teaching us how to perfect the model stare. And of course, it’ll feature your amazing designs. Which will help boost you into a good design school and get you internships, or even your own line eventually.”

“I still don’t think it’s a good idea!” Marinette grumbled at Nino, who pushed up his goggles to stare her down, an annoying habit he had picked up from Alya. “It feels like cheating.”

“Like no one else is going to use money or power to cheat at the game. You really think Chloe is going to get into a fashion school because of her own talent? No because it doesn’t exists. Mayor Daddy is going to donate a ton of money and buy them a new building. Even Adrien’s benefitting from the system. His dad’s made it very clear that he’s going to donate a lot of money to the prestigious university that Adrien goes to. Use what you have to get ahead!”

“I just don’t think that using the image of Ladybug to help me is right. It’s like getting an endorsement and Ladybug doesn’t do that.”

Nino stared at her in disbelief, “You do know one of the reasons that the Ladyblog is so popular is because Ladybug loves giving Alya, her best friend, special interviews and has been for years.”

“That’s different!”

“Is it? Mari, listen. You need to start making helping Marinette out a priority. Hawkmoth’s defeated! Ladybug can relax now. She doesn’t have to worry about saving Paris, she can start worrying about normal things, like school, and finding ways to pay rent, and following her dreams.”

Marinette switched tactics, “But then I’ll never know if my designs are popular because they’re good or because famous people wore them.”

“You’ve won Gabriel Agreste’s design contest every year for the past four years and have clients from all over the world. I think your designs are good. Next argument.” Nino grinned at her and Marinette sighed.

“Fine.”

“What?”

“I’ll do it!” Marinette stood up quickly, almost knocking Nino off the roof, spinning one of her yo-yos around in a whirl of pink. “Can we patrol now?”

Nino shook his head with a grin, “Nah, it’s freezing, no one’s going to be doing anything. Let’s go get some fries or something. I’m starving.”


	2. Nino is lowkey everyone's celebrity crush

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't know whether to thank everyone who read my little drabble, giving me kudos and nice comments, or curse them for making me want to write more instead of studying. Please enjoy!

Adrien picked up a silky dark green tie and studied the tiny stitches of the embroidered paw print pattern, carefully done with a thin darker green thread that shimmered when it caught the light. “I think this would go best loosely tied with this shirt.” He laid it atop the pale grey dress shirt, putting the white one to the side. “Disheveled hair, but still styled. You know what I mean, Mari?” He looked around for his girlfriend, who was carrying a tall stack of shoe boxes that seemed to be making up their mind as to whether to fall and crush the petite girl. He quickly moved to help her, but Alya got there first.

“Like a mix between Chat hair and normal Adrien hair.” Alya responded for her overwhelmed best friend. “We should go for a flirty look then. We’ll put dark red lipstick on Mari and give you five minutes to make out beforehand. Then you’ll have that dopey ‘I’m so in love face’ and lipstick all over your face. We can stick a rose in your teeth or something.” She took half of the boxes from Marinette and set them on the table, and the shorter girl moved to look over the outfit her boyfriend laid out.

“You think light grey, mon minou? What about the black slacks with the leather piping on the side.”

“It’s such an amazing tie, I think we should focus on that.” Adrien smiled at his girlfriend, “Everyone should see how precise your stitches are.” Marinette gave him a quickly kiss on the cheek before being whisked away by Alya.

“Go get changed, model boy. Mari! It’s makeup time!”

Nino helped Adrien tie his tie, because the eighteen year old model was still hopeless when it came to tying ties. He then unceremoniously shoved him towards Mari, who dragged him into the corner. Nino shared a wink with Adrien before sauntering over to his girlfriend. “So we have a short break right now-”

“No time! Okay so, Marinette made this casual suit inspired by Jade, and while it has a matching dress shirt, I have a vision.” Alya smirked at him.

“Should I be scared?”

She smiles and held out her hands as if framing a picture, “Imagine you standing there, all casual, hands in pockets, gold sunglasses and hair all messy and your scruff perfect, wearing just the blazer and a turtle necklace.”

“And the purpose of this?”

“So you break everyone’s heart. Now go change.” Alya pushed a bundle of clothes into his hands and Nino turned to leave, almost running into a very red Marinette and a dopey Adrien. “Damn girl, you did good!” Alya grinned and gave Adrien a rose before shoving him in front of the plain white backdrop. “Alright, Chat Noir, just think of Ladybug and look here!” She picked up the fancy camera they had all chipped in to buy her the year before and Adrien smiled at the lens.

“Alya, we forgot the mask!” Marinette screeched before the picture could be taken however, running over to a pile in the corner. She returned with a venetian styled black cat mask and carefully put it on Adrien, careful not to ruin his carefully mussed up hair or smear the lipstick marks on his cheek and throat.

“Perfect.” She smiled at her boyfriend before pulling him to her by the tie to give him another kiss before shoving him back. She ran out of the frame to stand behind Ayla, who snapped to get the cat’s attention.

“Alright, think of Ladybug and model!”

Adrien responded by putting the rose between his teeth and giving Ayla the goofiest smile she had ever seen.

* * *

“Put on the dress.”

“No.”

“Marinette. This is a Chat Noir inspired dress, and it makes sense for Ladybug to wear a dress inspired by her partner. That’s why Adrien’s wearing the Ladybug suit.”

“That dress is too short for me to wear.”

“No, you need to show off your thunder thighs.”

“Alya! It’s leather!” Marinette shoved said dress at Alya.

“Chat Noir is living proof that everyone looks good in skin tight leather.” Alya shoved the dress back at her friend, who threw it back before pinching a tiny bit of fat on her stomach and pointing to it accusingly. Alya crossed her arms, “Is that supposed to change my mind?”

“You can’t have an ounce of fat to wear skintight leather. That’s why an actual model is supposed to wear this.”

Alya scoffed, “These clothes aren’t going to be worn by models, they're going to be worn by normal people.”

“I’m a superhero.”

Alya smiled, “Close enough.”

Marinette groaned again, and vigorously shook her head. Alya opened her mouth to convince her, but was cut off by Adrien.

“Plagg, claws out!”

Alya, Marinette, and Nino all watched in shock as Adrien transformed, but instead of the Chat Noir suit, he reappeared in a version of the dress. The tight leather bodice had been altered to accommodate his broader shoulders and the loose skater style skirt was longer to protect his modesty. He flicked the bell at his neck.

“Problem solved. Marinette can wear the suit. She’ll look better in it anyway.”

Nino laughed and shoved the dark red suit into Marinette’s hands. “Listen to the model, Mari!” He shoved her towards the dressing room as Alya threw a bright red polka-dotted bowtie at her head.

Nino ran his eyes over Adrien, who struck a pose.

“Like what you see, Lahiffe?”

“Dude, if I wasn’t dating Alya, I’d totally hit that.”

“Same, Nino, same.” Alya nodded beside him.

* * *

“Hello to all of my lovely subscribers! It’s your girl Alya, and I’m here with a special treat for all of you. Over the course of the next week, I’ll be dropping hints and sneak peaks of a special surprise. To start,” she flipped the camera to reveal Jade Turtle sitting on the couch across from her, “The one, the only, Jade Turtle!”

“It’s lovely to be here, Cèsaire.”

“Alright, Turtle Boy, let’s review the rules of the interview, as this is broadcasting live. So you don’t spoil the big surprise, understand?”

“As long as you stay away from questions about my secret identity.” Jade grinned at the camera, and it clear how he had become the hearthrob of Paris.

“Deal. So let’s start with the basics. You have acquired quite a fan base since you appeared on the scene two years ago.”

“Is that a question or a statement?”

“It leads into my question. So, is the heartthrob of Paris single?” Alya winked at Nino from the other side of the camera.

“Is this your way of letting me know you’re interested?” Nino smirked at her.

“Turtle Boy, you were talking to my boyfriend less that five minutes ago.”

Jade laughed, “Alas, it appears that our romance was never meant to be. You’re dating Nino and I have an amazing girlfriend.”

“Say it isn’t so!” Alya laughed, “Tell us about her?”

“I’m not going to give names, or really much information at all, but she’s really incredible.”

“Does she know she’s dating the Jade Turtle?” Alya was surprised when Jade gave her a shit eating grin and replied, “Nope.”

“Really?”

“I’ve been thinking about telling her, but it’s difficult you know. I love this girl and we haven’t dated for very long, but I know that she’s the one I want to spend the rest of my life with. I guess I’m waiting until I propose.” Jade Turtle had a lovestruck look on his face, and Alya looked about ready to jump him.

“Well I’m sure that comes as quite a disappointment to so many of your fans.” Alya sounded positively gleeful.

“And while I could rave about my girlfriend all day, it’s kinda hard to do so when I can’t say her name, or her job, or her plans for the future.”

“What about your plans for the future?”

“Being Jade Turtle is super demanding so I’ll probably just keep the job I have now. I’m a waiter at a restaurant that will not be named. The hours are pretty flexible so it works with my being a hero.”

“What about your hobbies?”

“Saving the world. And I’ve gotten into surfing since becoming Jade! I try to go to the beach once or twice a month, but nothing compares to the Seine at night surfing on a magic shield.” Jade stretched out of the couch and put his hands behind his head, “But enough about me. Cèsaire, how has it been to get to know me the past couple days?”

“Disappointing.” She deadpanned.

“That’s a shame. I was hoping I had become your new celebrity crush.” He grinned.

“Everyone knows that Ladybug is my celebrity crush! I’m her number one fan!”

“I am positive that Chat Noir is Ladybug’s number one fan.” Alya laughed at that.

“Who wouldn’t want to make out with Ladybug? Nino and I’ve discussed that if either of us get the opportunity to kiss our celebrity crush, it’s not cheating.”

“And who is his celebrity crush?”

Alya raised an eyebrow in challenge, “Reine Rena.”

Jade laughed, “If I didn’t know her, I’d probably agree.”

“Well than who is your celebrity crush, Mr. Jade Turtle?”

“Adrien Agreste.”

Alya and Nino could hear Adrien’s snicker in the background, but it was nothing to Marinette’s booming laugh, as she shoved her boyfriend into the camera frame.

“Sup, Jade?” Adrien tried to suppress his giggles, but couldn’t keep the giant smirk off his face.

“Sup, Adrien?” Jade nodded at his friend and Adrien nodded back. The two just nodded at each other with giant smirks on their faces. Jade raised an eyebrow, before suddenly standing up. Adrien grinned and dipped Jade into a loud smacking kiss.

Alya squealed in the background, thrilled to have caught the kiss on camera, and the two came up laughing. Their laughter died down and they just smiled and nodded at each other, before Adrien winked and shot finger guns at the camera before running off frame.

Alya could hear Marinette’s signature wolf whistle as the kwami applauded.

Jade Turtle bowed deeply, before settling back on the couch, “We’re bros now. My man Adrien’s been helping me and the rest of my fellow heroes with something big.” He sprung forward, pointing at the camera, “But that’s all for tonight folks!”

“It’s eleven in the morning, Jade.”

“Next time on the Ladyblog. Will Alya get to kiss Ladybug? Does Reine Rena actually know how to play the flute? And is Chat Noir a natural blonde? All this and more, on the one, the only, Ladyblog!”

Alya shut off the camera as he winked at the camera, and made sure the livestream had really ended before tackling her boyfriend.

* * *

Within an hour of Alya posting the video, #Jadrien was the number one trending topic in Paris, and the video was not only her most popular video ever, but the fifth-most viewed video on youtube.

The boys were ridiculously proud of themselves.

Ayla and Marinette vowed to out do them.


	3. Not all turtles are peaceful

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The best break from studying I've ever had.

    As it so happened, it was Adrien that once again starred in the next Ladyblog video, though most would call him Chat Noir. Alya had created a poll to discover which hero her fans wanted to see next, and was incredibly disappointed when Chat Noir beat out Ladybug by only two votes. Marinette was convinced that her boyfriend had rigged it somehow, and Alya wouldn’t have put it past him.  

Alya’s and Mari’s plans of breaking the internet would have to wait, much to their dismay.

She had her revenge however, by finding some of the most ridiculous questions people wanted to ask Chat Noir. As well as some of her own. She laughed maniacally just thinking about it, and Adrien looked over at her in confusion.

“Alya? What’s so funny?”

“You’ll see. Now go on and transform, Whiskers, and we’ll get everything set up.” Alya walked over to the couch and backdrop she had set up in Marinette’s room for interviews.

Plagg shoved his piece of Camembert into his mouth, “That doesn’t sound good for you, kid.” He reached his tiny paws for another slice.

The blond rolled his eyes, “Plagg, claws out!”

“I’m not done with my cheese!” The kwami complained as he was sucked into Chat Noir’s ring as Adrien went through his transformation. It was Alya’s turn to roll her eyes.

She still couldn’t believe that Adrien had an entire magical girl transformation sequence planned out when he had received his miraculous. At least, according to Plagg, he had. 

Chat Noir had been the first hero Alya had discovered the identity of. Ladybug and Chat Noir had been defending Paris for almost a year before Jade Turtle had appeared on the scene, saving them from a particularly awful akuma that enjoyed raising the dead. It had been the aftermath of that battle when Alya had stalked Chat Noir, hoping to get an exclusive interview about the new hero, when he had collapsed, releasing his transformation as he hit the ground with an dreadful sounding thunk. 

Alya’s phone had dropped and broken as she panicked, realizing that her boyfriend’s best friend and her best friend’s crush was passed out in a dark alleyway. She had called Nino asking for help, pulled the unconscious hero out of sight, and almost swatted Plagg into the wall as the kwami floated up and asked for Camembert.

Before she could ask for an explanation from the god of destruction, Nino had arrived, and Alya told him everything without thinking. Nino had panicked as well, but the two managed to pull themselves together long enough to make sure Adrien was okay and woke up. They explained what happened, and he offered an explanation to his current state.

It turned out, the combination of fencing, piano, Chinese lessons, a strict model diet, school, and saving Paris didn’t leave much time for sleep.

Alya shook her head to bring herself back to the present, studying her friend.

    Dating Marinette and weaseling out of fencing and Chinese lessons had really helped Adrien. For the first time since Alya had met him, he looked healthy. But more importantly, he was actually happy.

    “Ready?” He asked, fixing his weird cat eyes on her with an easy grin that had become more and more common. She nodded.

    “Let’s do this.”

* * *

Nino and Marinette kept the Ladyblog’s live-stream playing on a computer in the background as they looked through the clothes hanging off the rack. Nino may have been a musician rather than a designer like her, but he created his own album covers, and she was grateful for his insight.

“So, Chat Noir, I have a list of questions that we are going to get through, but let’s lay some ground rules. You don’t spoil the surprise, and I stay away from questions revolving around your identity.”

“Also, no kissing anyone. Sorry, but these lips are only for my Bugaboo.”

“I don’t think that’s going to be a problem, Whiskers.” Chat made a big show of being offended and Marinette laughed at her boyfriend.

Nino pulled a pair of black silky pants, embroidered with colorful flowers, from the rack, “These are definitely a Ladybug piece.”

“I didn’t really think of them for part of the shoot, though.” Marinette took them from him as he held them out to her, studying the pattern, “They do have ladybugs on them, but they’re so small you could hardly see them.”

“What’s more casual Ladybug than floral? I don’t know what could go on top, but I’m just the DJ.” He picked up a pair of red high heels and tossed them at her, and only years of superhero reflexes kept them from hitting her face.

She gave Nino a dirty look, “I have the perfect blouse and sunglasses for this.”

Adrien’s voice cut through the brief moment of silence and the two turned back to the computer. “What would I do if someone gave me an elephant? Why an elephant?”

“I didn’t write this question!”

“Ummm, okay. I’d probably give it to the zoo.”

“Boring! Next question, who has the best abs in Paris?”

“That one’s easy - Ladybug. My bugaboo’s got abs of steel.”

Nino poked said abs of steel and Marinette flexed, striking a ridiculous pose not unlike the one’s her boyfriend would strike for the cameras at public events.

Marinette giggled as Chat Noir began to flex on the computer screen, unknowingly copying the same pose she had struck, before going back to the pile of clothes, “Alright, Nino, pick out an outfit for Alya.”

His eyes lit up, but next to his head, Wayzz poked his cheek, “Something appropriate!” Marinette nodded with agreement and Nino faked a pained groan.

“None of you are any fun.” Still, he rummaged through the clothes, pulling out an oversized dark grey sweater and white shorts, gently setting them on the table before ducking into the accessories box, as it had been dubbed. Marinette studied the clothes before her. The shorts weren’t special in any particular way, but she was taken back to the hours of work she had suffered through carefully knitting in the olive green leaves into the cuffs and neckline of the sweater. She shuddered at the memory, as Nino stood up, hitting his head on the table and knocking the glasses from his face.

He yelped in pain, and rubbed the back of his head as Wayzz picked up his glasses, “Thanks, little dude,” He held out his first and the kwami bumped it with his tiny paw. “Now, I remembered you saying something about these socks,” he held out the over the knee socks with the cute little fox faces Marinette had worked so hard on. 

She smiled, “This is going to be perfect.”

“I can totally sing! Ladybug says if I wasn’t a hero, I could be a popstar!” With that, Chat Noir began to sing some cheesy love song and both Nino and Marinette lunged towards the computer.

Both were too late to mute it though, and worse, they knocked their heads together and thus were forced to suffer through Chat’s horrible caterwaul until Alya thankfully turned off the live-stream. Nino rubbed his ears, “Any blood?” He asked and Marinette shook her head as Wayzz uncovered his tiny ears.

“At least you don’t have to tell him he sounds good.”

“Dude, I’m pretty sure Adrien knows he’s a terrible singer.”

She giggled, “He sounds like a strangled cat.”

“He’ll be a dying cat if he continues,” Wayzz grumbled, and the two heroes gaped in surprise at the usually peaceful kwami.

“Little dude, that was dark.”

Marinette nodded in agreement, “Very dark.”

“Super harsh.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have not yet seen the Christmas special, but I personally believe that Adrien is a terrible singer. Model boy can't be perfect after all.


	4. Shall we dance?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh look we can see a plot begin to emerge (if you squint)

“We could do whatever meme is trending at the time?”

“We can’t break the internet doing something that’s already done.”

“We could make out?”

“The boys already did that.”

“We do the interview at the top of the Eiffel Tower?”

“It would still just be a basic interview in a new location. Come on, Mari! We need something new and exciting that will beat the boy’s kiss!”

Tikki patted Marinette’s hand from her warm nest in her purse as the dark haired girl groaned, “Don’t worry! You girls will think of something.”

Trixx looked up from her cup of coffee in Alya’s lap, “Don’t celebrities get naked for views?”

Marinette choked on a cookie and Alya raised an eyebrow at her kwami,  “It wouldn’t be appropriate for us to pose in the nude, Trixx. We’re role models.”

“I never said it was a good or bad idea, just an idea!” The kwami protested, “Besides, it was better than what you came up with.”

Alya turned up towards Marinette, “She has a point there. And we do have some fancy lingerie and no pride.” She smirked and Marinette furiously shook her head.

“No no no no no no no-” Alya cut her off with a snort of laughter.

“Kidding, girl! Did you actually think I wanted us to pose naked?” She giggled at Marinette’s red face, almost as red as Tikki or her old suit.

“I panicked?” It came out as more of a question and Alya’s giggles dissolved into a full body laugh, and she fell off the park bench they were sitting on.

“Marinette, your face! You don’t even need the miraculous to be Ladybug now!” Trixx laughed too, a throaty guffaw so loud it made Marinette look around to see if they were actually alone in the park. Except for a couple of teenagers walking on the other side of the park, they were alone in the snowy weather. Marinette shivered in her coat. She got cold much more easily after becoming ladybug.

Alya’s laugh subsided into small giggles before she suddenly stiffened, shoving Trixx into the folds of her scarf. “What is it?” Marinette asked, but quickly discovered the reason.

“Hey, Marinette! Alya!” Alix came to a stop in front of them, skates pushing up snow and burrowing Marinette’s boots.

“Alix! What are you doing?” Alya asked, as Marinette shot a quick glance down at her purse to make sure Tikki was hidden.

The now blue haired girl shot a thumb over her shoulder, “Kim bet that I couldn’t beat him to the Ladybug and Chat Noir statue, but I’m pretty sure he slipped somewhere by that old massage parlor.”

“Is he okay?”

Alix shrugged, “Probably, but I don’t actually know. We actually had plans to go to your parents’ bakery, Marinette. Anything good?”

“Papa’s trying out this new filling for these cream puffs. More caramel. Their good, but I’m not the biggest caramel fan.”

Alya gasped, “Don’t listen to this heathen, Alix. The caramel delights are a gift from god. Ladybug herself said they were her favorite.” Marinette shot Alya a look as Alix laughed.

“Speaking of the heroes of Paris, any hints on that big surprise?”

“You will find out with everyone else next week.”

Alix pouted in mock betrayal, “Not even for old friends? I’m sure Mari knows.”

“That’s because Marinette is involved! I wouldn’t tell her otherwise.”

“You wouldn’t?” Marinette wondered if she should be offended. After all, Alya told her everything. She lasted two hours before telling Marinette that she had been given the fox miraculous.

“Nevermind all that. Alix, I may tell you, if you let Kim win your race.” Alya pointed to Kim, who had just come into view at the end of the street. Alix scowled.

“Low blow, Cèsaire. Low blow.” With that, she skated off towards the statue at the other end of the park, making sure Kim saw her far ahead of him. Because there was no way Alix was ever going to let Kim win in any challenge. Alya laughed at Kim’s annoyed bellow, as he tried to catch up to her, while knowing it was futile.

The two came back to the friends on the bench, Alix gloating while Kim pouted.

“You guys want to join us? We’re meeting Max and Nathanaël there.”

“Yep, join us! And you can tell us all about that surprise from the Ladyblog.” Kim grinned.

“No, no. If they tell anyone, it’s going to be me. Because I won.” Kim’s grin turned back into a scowl.

“I would have won if I hadn’t fallen!”

“I would have won even if I had landed on my butt in the snow like you did!”

* * *

Adrien settled into Marinette’s comfortable armchair and watched her flit around her room like a bee to flowers. Or more appropriately, a Ladybug. She grabbed a red top with a cute white peter pan collar and tossed it to him.

“Find a necklace that would go with this and a full skirt,” she instructed, “I’m still trying to decide if I want polka dots or florals.”

He rummaged through the necklace box, “I’d honestly go with florals, just because polka dots for Ladybug are almost overdone. What about the black skirt with the red roses? That’s sort of a twist on the polka dot pattern.”

She hummed in agreement, “That’s kinda what I was thinking, but I also have some that are more traditional florals.”

He pulled out a short gold chain with two ladybugs on each end, “What’s this, Bugaboo?”

Marinette’s beautiful blue eyes lit up, “A collar clip. Adrien, it’s perfect!” She pulled the clip and the top from his hands, laying them out with the rose skirt.

“What’s this going to be for?” He asked, hugging her from behind with his head resting on her shoulder.

She scratched him behind his ears, and though he was not transformed, he still purred. “I was thinking of a couple’s shoot, with the two of us. Remember those grey pants with the leather piping?” He nodded and she continued, “There’s a matching vest, and I figured with a basic white button up and green tie, and some accessories like this cat head tie pin I made and your mask and cat ears....” She trailed off and turned to him, eyes traveling up and down his form. “I have some cute heels, and I made this set of dress shoes with leather detailing, and we could do some cute poses.”

Adrien’s eyes lit up, “We could dance.”

Marinette paled slightly in horror and he quickly continued, “My lady, do you think I would let you make a fool out of yourself? If anything, you’d make a fool out of me!”

Some of the color went back into her cheeks, but she still shook her head no, “I’m so clumsy!”

“Not as Ladybug.”

“But that’s magic. Adrien, I tripped over thin air and fell down two flights of stairs last week. And remember the dance we went to? Where I stepped on your foot so hard that you got a broken toe? You want a repeat of that?”

He laughed and took her hands, “All you need is a little bit of practice!” With that, he swung her around in a spin. She squealed in surprise as he put one hand on her waist and held the other, their fingers intertwined.

“Just follow my lead, and watch my feet.”

“So I don’t step on them?”

“So you know the steps. Watch.” He took a step back, then to the side, forward, to the other side. “Just copy my steps.”

Marinette blushed furiously and watched his feet, but copied the movements perfectly. Granted, they were going much slower that the actual dance would be.

“One, two three, and. One, two three, and.” Adrien started counting out loud, slowly spinning Marinette around faster and faster around her room. Music started to come from Marinette’s speakers, and a quick glance revealed Tikki had found a song to play, before spinning around the room with Plagg.

Adrien had to laugh at the song Tikki had chosen. “Shall we dance?” from Rodgers and Hammerstein’s The King and I. He had taken Marinette to see the show last year when his father had brought them both to New York for a fashion show.

Neither Adrien or Marinette could understand all of the words, despite having studied English for years in school, but they had both enjoyed the show. Marinette had been fascinated with the costumes, but Adrien had loved the songs most of all. And this song in particular.

The two hummed along as they danced.


	5. Even Superheroes have Homework

“So because of the forces in the Y direction cancel each other out, we can - Nino are you even listening?”

“Hmm?’ Nino asked, having spaced out while his girlfriend tried to teach him physics.

“Repeat what I said?”

“Something about acceleration?” Alya groaned.

“Nino! You need to pass this exam, otherwise you won’t graduate.”

“Right, sorry, babe. I’m trying.”

She glared at him, “Try harder.”

“Okay, forces?”

“Yes. So in this problem we can use Newton’s second law to find the normal force. Because we are told that the acceleration in the Y direction is zero, the normal force must equal the force of gravity-”

“Which is equal to the mass times 9.8, because a force is equal to the mass times acceleration. And the mass is twenty-four kilograms, so the normal force is equal to 235.2 Newtons.” Nino stared at the paper, eyebrows scrunched up in concentration. “That’s all I got.”

“The force of friction is equal to the normal force times the friction constant.”

“Right! So the force of friction is,” he punched some numbers into his calculator, “44.7 Newtons. And we subtract that from the initial force of 125 Newtons and divide that by the mass, and we get the acceleration of the system in the X-direction is 3.34 meters per second squared!” He circled his answer and Alya gave him a grin and a kiss.

“You did it!” He smiled at her and he felt Wayzz gently headbutt his cheek. He gave the kwami a little head rub.

“I still don’t understand why Wayzz just doesn’t give you the answers.” Trixx grumbled with her cup of coffee on the other side of the desk. Alya gave her Reine Rena’s signature glare, but Trixx remained unfazed. Wayzz, on the other hand, flew over to Trixx.

“Because how will he learn if someone is always holding his hand! Nino needs to know how to have faith in his own abilities.”

“Nino wants to be a DJ, is he really going to need to know physics?”

Wayzz glared at the fox kwami, antennae twitching.

“I mean, if don’t want to help your kit out, I’m happy to!” She flew over to Nino and placed both front paws on either side of his nose, and Nino had to cross his eyes to see her, “Do you want help on this test?”

“Wouldn’t that be cheating?” Nino asked, and she laughed.

“Everyone cheats! Think of it as using all of your resources.”

Nino shook his head until Trixx let go, her little face scrunched up in disgruntlement. “Thanks, Trixx, but I’d rather fail on my own terms than pass on someone else’s.”

Alya gave him a light punch on the shoulder as she swept Trixx out of the air, but she was smiling. Wayzz was practically shaking he was so proud of his chosen. He beamed up at Nino, and the aspiring DJ offered him his hand for a fist bump.

Wayzz bumped his fist and flew up to squeeze his cheek.

“I’m so proud of you!” He squealed.

At least, he squealed as much as a tiny regal turtle god who had existed since the beginning of time could.

* * *

Chloè settled in next to Adrien in the limo, “Sabrina’s next!” She instructed the driver, and she turned to her friend as the doors closed.

“Is there any particular reason you kidnapped me?” Adrien asked, eyebrows raised in confusion. Chloè had been waiting outside his gate, and pulled him inside the second he had stepped off the grounds of the Agreste mansion on his way to Marinette’s. He was regretting not leaving as Chat Noir, but it had been a rare sunny day, he wanted to enjoy the walk.

She shoved her phone, which had a screenshot of his and Jade’s now infamous kiss on the screen, “You kissed Jade Turtle! Which means you met Jade Turtle, and by extension, Ladybug! And Reine Rena!” She squealed in excitement.

Though Chloè had matured quite a bit over the past few years, she could only bring herself to be civil and courteous to Marinette and Alya. Somehow, she and Nino had managed to create an odd friendship, but they all knew getting the girls to become friends was a lost cause. Still, they all found it hilarious that Chloè was such a huge fan of Ladybug and Reine Rena.

Especially Reine Rena, mostly because while Chloè’s love for Ladybug was as much hero worship as anything, Chloè’s crush on Reine Rena was similar to everyone else’s in Paris.

Reine Rena wasn’t referred to as the Vixen for nothing.

Granted, Alya thought it was hilarious, and encouraged it by flirting with everyone. Especially Chloè. Nino wasn’t sure if he was jealous or amused, yet.

“Adrien!”

“Huh?”

“I said to tell me everything!”

“I can’t tell you about the surprise, though?”

“Why not?” She narrowed her eyes at him.

“Because it’s a big surprise and I’m not going to do that to Marinette.”

“But I’m your best friend.”

“Nino is my best friend, and you are my oldest friend. Get it right, Chlo.” He tried to joke, but she just glared at him, her face decidedly unamused. Adrien sighed, “It’s not my secret to tell, and it wasn’t even my idea! It’s Marinette’s project and Alya’s brainchild. Nino and I are just helping out.”

“Because Marinette asked for your help?”

“Yes, exactly. So you see why I can’t tell you?”

“So I just need Marinette to see that she needs my help!”

“Wait, no. Chloè, Mari and Alya don’t need your help.”

She tossed her ponytail back over her shoulder. “Of course they need my help! I’m the mayor’s daughter, I can give them everything they would need. All I want is to meet my heroes in return.”

“Chloè!”

“Okay so what do Marinette and Alya like? I need to remember to get them something while we are at the mall.”

“The mall?” Adrien asked weakly, already imagining the hordes of rabid fans hoping for an autograph or a picture and his own face plastered on every wall of the very popular store for Agreste’s ready to wear designs. “We’re going to the mall?”

“Of course we’re going to the mall! Where else would we go? Sasha’s birthday is only in another week, and I need to get her a present to remind her that I’m the best girlfriend ever!” Chloè sighed, clearly off in Sasha-land, as Adrien privately called it. He could imagine the hearts in her eyes.

“And your crush on Reine Rena?” He raised an eyebrow at her as she waved her hand in her signature ‘who cares’ motion.

“Reine Rena’s a superhero. The rules are different. Besides,” she gave him a sly look, “Are you saying you don’t still have a crush on Ladybug, even though you are happily dating Marinette?”

 _“Of course, because Ladybug is Marinette!”_ He thought.

“You have a point.” He said.

It was weird, having so many people know about his dual lives after having been alone for so long, that sometimes he forgot that people like Chloè or Nathalie or his father didn’t know, though he had worried for years that his father knew he was Chat Noir, or at least strongly suspected.

“Of course I’m right!”

* * *

“We could conduct the interview while going through Paris via Yo-Yo?”

“I’d be too afraid of dropping you, especially when you aren’t in a suit.” Alya groaned on the other end of the phone. Or magical yo-yo.

It was Ladybug’s and Chat Noir’s night to patrol, but as usual, nothing really happened, meaning they ended up looking over Paris at the top of the Eiffel Tower. And making out.

“We could ask people on the street what they thought of Ladybug and then you unveil yourself?”

“You already did that with Jade Turtle at a legitimate fan-club meeting.”

“We switch miraculouses for the day?”

Marinette raised her eyebrows, “That could work, but I don’t really want to deal with Trixx for an entire day.”

“How do you think I feel? I have to deal with her everyday.” Alya grumbled, and she could hear Trixx laughing in the background.

“How about Ladybug takes you on a date? Kind of as a return to your comments about having a crush on me.”

“Celebrity crushes are different, Bugaboo.” Adrien plopped down next to Marinette and waved at the screen, “Hey, foxy.”

“Go away, you mangy alley cat, I’m trying to have a private girl chat with my best girl.”

Adrien laughed, “Alright, I know when I’m not wanted.”

“Mari, that idea could work, but it couldn’t be a live-stream. Unless Nino wanted to film it.”

“That would be hilarious, Alya. Your boyfriend would be filming your date with a superhero. Think about it.”

“Will do. Okay, I’ll let you go back to your date with a handsome boy in leather.” Alya winked at the camera before hanging up, and Marinette walked over to her boyfriend.

“So you guys are trying to out do Jadrien?”

“It’s harder than we thought,” Marinette admitted, and Adrien did a little victory dance, until Marinette shoved him, not enough to push him off the tower, but enough to make him lose his balance enough to stop dancing.

“You know, there is a way we could out do Jadrien. Not Alya, just us.” Adrien smiled at her and Marinette ignored the little flip flop her stomach still made after all these years.

“How?”

“Do you trust me?”

“Of course.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chloè is super bi and no one will never convince me otherwise.


	6. Gabriel Agreste: Cool dad?

Despite everyone trying to figure out what the big surprise the Ladyblog was about to drop, the four best friends had so far been successful at keeping it a secret.

So of course, Adrien had to ruin everything.

He blamed Plagg. Not just the bad luck that followed his path ever since receiving the Black Cat miraculous years ago, but the actual god of bad luck and destruction. Plagg personally loved to fawn over Marinette’s designs, but he had a reputation to uphold, and only did so in the privacy of Adrien’s room.

So naturally, he left a book of designs out on Adrien’s bed, where Gabriel Agreste could easily find them. Adrien left the bathroom to find his father sitting on the edge of the bed, looking through the book with interest.

“Père?”

“I’m assuming these are Miss Dupain-Cheng’s designs?” His father asked, flipping through to another page, a sketch of a Chinese inspired wedding dress, “For her application to ESMOD?”

“Yes.”

“And she already created them?”

“Yes.”

“How has she been doing her portfolio? Does she need models, or a proper photographer? I have some backdrops I’d be happy to give her or even-”

“Nope, we have all the models and equipment we need!” He cut him off, and Gabriel Agreste nodded, turning the page to an obviously Reine Rena inspired outfit.

“Your friend Miss Cèsaire, I assume she is the photographer? And somehow, you managed to convince the heroes of Paris to model for you?”

Adrien’s jaw dropped and he stammered some semblance of an excuse. Or a denial, or an exclamation of surprise, he wasn’t quite sure.

“Quite impressive, but unsurprising. I quite enjoyed the redesign she did last year.”

“Two years ago,” Adrien corrected.

“Hmm,” he nodded, too engrossed in the designs. Adrien took the opportunity to marvel at the change in his father from the past few years.

Gabriel Agreste had in a sense loosened up over the past couple of years.

He had himself to thank for that. Several years ago, Gabriel had come to dinner for the first time in months and immediately began to berate Adrien for consistently looking listless in his shoots and complaining that the one from earlier that week would have to be redone. Adrien had exploded onto his father, screaming about how he didn’t even like modeling, how he didn’t care about fencing, that he was already fluent in Chinese, that he didn’t even have time to play the piano anymore, that he hardly slept because of homework, and how he wasn’t going to be able to pass his exams and study physics at university because he had no free time.

Adrien had stormed out of the room leaving a startled Gabriel Agreste in his wake, not expected to see his father for another few months. Surprisingly, his father had appeared in his doorway the next night, and the two had their first real conversation in years. Gabriel had asked about school, about his friends, about his plans for the future, and Adrien had simply talked for hours and for the first time his father had just listened. When the flood of words had ended, Gabriel had nodded, and explained that had been trying so hard to give Adrien the best life, he had forgotten to get to know his own son.

Adrien had been shocked as his father announced his plans to cancel some of his extra-curriculars and modeling commitments. He had been even more shocked as he awkwardly asked Adrien to make time for some father-son bonding time every weekend.

Of course, Adrien had excitedly agreed, but hadn’t really expected his father to make time in his own schedule. Yet Gabriel had made an effort, and while there were still weekends when he was unable to make it, they were far outnumbered by the fancy dinners, elaborate shows, and trips around Europe that Gabriel always planned. It had been Nathalie’s suggestion to let Adrien plan some weekends, and Adrien had gleefully introduced him to anime.

It had been one of the greatest moments of his short life to watch his uptight and formidable father dissolve into tears at Nina Tucker’s storyline in Fullmetal Alchemist. Except for the whole completely messed up story of a girl being transmuted with her dog by her own father because he lost sight of what family meant in favor of his own ambition.

Marinette had to point out that the story possible hit too close to home.

“Adrien.”

“Hmm?” Adrien was brought back to the present at his father’s words, having disappeared in the memory of his father getting way too excited about Sailor Moon.

“Please tell Miss Dupain-Cheng that after her first year at ESMOD, she must apply for an internship at Agreste Designs.”

“You think she’ll get in?” Adrien’s eyes widened in surprise, as Gabriel rarely gave anyone much praise.

“Some of her designs are rather juvenile, but that is to be expected from someone with no proper training. Still, she has an excellent eye for technique and creating twists on the classics. Please tell her that I would love to see any designs for formal gowns she might have and am happy to give critiques,” Adrien nodded in silent disbelief, “How is your relationship with Miss Dupain-Cheng?”

“Everything’s amazing, Marinette’s amazing, and I’m just really happy with her.” He trailed off, and he knew that if Alya was here, she’d tease him about the dopey grin on his face, to which he would tease her about the sparkle in her eyes whenever she saw Nino.

“And what about Jade Turtle?” Gabriel’s face and voice were serious, but Adrien hoped that was a glimmer of amusement in his eyes. Still, he inwardly panicked, as he had never imagined that his father would see the viral video. He had always seemed above such human trivialities.

“W-we’re friends?” He stammered out, and Gabriel nodded.

“I know we’ve never specifically talked about this, but I want you to know that I love you no matter what and want what’s best for you. I don’t care if you want to date a boy or a girl, as long as they make you happy.”

Adrien felt his face burn, “Thanks, but I don’t think I’m ever going to be with anyone but Marinette.”

His father raised an eyebrow, “You’re awfully young to be saying that.”

“It’s the truth.”

* * *

Alya carefully pulled on the dress, “Trixx, can you zip me up?”

The kwami made an over exaggerated groan but flew over, zipping up the dress. Alya gently flicked her away as she tried to bury herself in Alya’s bun.

“This is a very carefully styled bun and I don’t need you messing with it!”

Trixx flopped a paw over her eyes, “Why must you hurt me this way?”

“Stop being a drama queen, Trixx, and let Alya model!” Came Tikki’s sweet voice from outside the curtain, and Alya grinned in triumph. Tikki was the only one, kwami or person, that Trixx would listen to. Not that she didn’t love Alya or the rest of the kwami or superheroes, but she firmly believed she knew more than them. Trixx sulked away.

Alya stepped out and gave a little twirl for Marinette, who clapped her hands in delight and did her signature excited butt wiggle, “It looks exactly as I imagined!”

She made a little bow at Marinette, “You did good, girl.” She admired herself in the mirror, examining the way the amber fabric made her skin glow and the black lines emphasized her figure. Alya’s favorite was the way the back of the skirt came to a subtle point, with pale fur detailing in an obvious reference to Reine Rena’s tail. She looked over her shoulder to admire the back of the dress when Marinette suddenly cursed.

“You can’t have your hair in a bun.”

“But then we are going to have to dye the ends of my hair white and that is not an option.” Alya complained, clutching her bun in an attempt to protect it.

“The dress is backless, and you have a very obvious and easily recognizable birthmark on your shoulder.” Marinette pointed out, and it was Alya’s turn to curse.

Marinette started to visibly panic, and Alya went into best friend mode, “Mari, it’s going to be okay, we’ll figure something out!”

“This dress is supposed to be one of the centerpieces of the collection! We have to include it! I promised Nino lots of pictures!”

“Trixx!” Alya looked around frantically for her kwami as Marinette started to hyperventilate, “Can you do something?”

Trixx lazily looked up from her little coffee cup to watch as Tikki and Alya did their best to reassure Marinette that everything was going to be fine, though the dark haired girl was on the verge of a breakdown. As fun as the whole fashion shoot had been so far, it was the designer’s job to worry. And Marinette took that job seriously.

“We could try a partial transformation.” Trixx looked down and took another sip of coffee as Alya looked at her in confusion.

“What does that mean?”

“You transform, and because I’m amazing, we just don’t create the whole costume. So I give you the hair and nothing else. It’s a similar concept to what Plagg did with his boy for the dress, or how our costumes changed after Tikki’s bug redesigned them because you complained how you looked too similar to that imposter.”

“Okay, okay. Trixx, tails out!” Trixx grinned and bared her fangs as she zipped over to Alya, and her chosen would have bet money she purposefully tipped over her coffee as she went. Marinette sprung into action with a squeal, jumping to save her sketchbook from the spill rapidly rushing towards where it precariously perched on the edge of the table. The designer angrily turned to berate Trixx, knowing the kwami could still hear her even as she rested in the necklace, and Alya could hear the fox’s smug response, though she chose not to share.

_“At least she’s not on the verge of breakdown anymore.”_

Alya spun around to admire herself in the mirror as Marinette calmed down, silently mourning the perfect bun she and her friend had slaved over for almost a full half hour. Trixx had made it burst from the carefully constructed prison of bobby pins and hairspray and some comb that Marinette had sacrificed to the cause. Somehow, the kwami had made her hair shorter, and perfectly curled, with the famous fade to white that Alya had claimed to have been an actual dye job for _aesthetic._

Most importantly, it was long enough to cover the telltale birthmark.

She spun her flute in her hands and blinked, watching how the mask on her face crinkled with the movement. She slung her flute across her shoulders and sauntered over to the backdrop, conjuring up an illusion of bright purple foxes to dance around her. She turned back to Marinette, “So how do you want me to pose?”

She held up the camera with a giant grin, “I already got the perfect shot.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If any of you for whatever reason want to follow me on tumblr, I'm bitterlittlebean!


	7. Chloè isn't evil, just spoiled

Chloè slid over a pair of carefully wrapped boxes over to Marinette and Alya on the other side of the table. 

Alya raised an eyebrow as Marinette studied the small box, “What is this for?”

“I want in.”

“No,” the two friends responded in unison, and the blonde glared at them. 

“Why not?”

“We’re almost done, and it just be more trouble than anything at this point,” Marinette said, trying to be polite as part of her  _ “win over Adrien’s oldest friend”  _ campaign. 

“You’d be useless,” said Alya, as part of her whole  _ “like I’m going to be nice”  _ attitude. 

Chloè huffed and examined her nails, “You know I could actually be helpful if you gave me a chance. What do you need me to do?”

Marinette shook her head, “We really are almost done. Chloè, this isn’t anything against you. We just really don’t need anything.”

Alya leaned over the edge of the table and got right in Chloè’s face, but the blonde tuned her out, instead choosing to glance over to the other side of the small coffee shop that was Marinette and Alya’s favorite according to Sabrina’s reconnaissance and the subsequent interrogation of both Adrien and Nino. Her best friend and girlfriend had grabbed a table in a secluded corner where Chloè could see them, but the other girls couldn’t. Sabrina made a motion as if she was drinking something and Sasha gave her girlfriend a double thumbs up. Chloè quickly waved over one of the servers. 

“Mademoiselle Bourgeois, what can I do for you today?” The server, Jacques, asked after appearing at her side, surprising both Alya and Marinette. The former appeared to have been cut off mid rant, and Chloè did a silent and completely mental victory dance. 

“I will have my usual, and whatever my friends here want. I’m paying.” She raised an eyebrow, daring them to argue. Surprisingly, it was Alya who kept her mouth shut for once while Marinette quickly checked her phone before trying to make some excuse. Something about a video game tournament? She didn’t really listen, preferring to instead stare down the smaller girl until she ordered a small peppermint hot chocolate to-go. 

“Okay, now that we all have caffeine on the way, surely we can rethink your ridiculous position on this.” Chloe shot a glance over to her girlfriend in the corner before looking back at Alya and Marinette. The two looked back, and the three seemed on track to have a simple battle of wills. Or at the very least a staring contest. 

As such, none of them noticed the little boy who had walked towards their table until he gently tugged on Marinette’s sleeve and the three women turned to look at him. His eyes widened but something in them steeled, and in a small voice with a slight accent, he asked “Are you Marinette Cheng?”

“I am?”

He smiled and pulled out a small book from his pocket, “Can you sign my sketchbook?”

“I can?” Marinette seemed confused but she signed it anyway. The little boy squealed in joy as she handed it back, and his dad came over to stand by his side, explaining everything as he stared reverently at the signature on the cover. 

“Albert’s been a fan of yours since you redesigned the heroes of Paris’s costumes. He’s been following your blog ever since.”

“I wanna be a designer too!” He piped up, giving Marinette a wide grin. She grinned back and asked to see his designs, before going through and giving him praise and criticism delivered so sweetly it didn’t even feel remotely malicious or cruel. Alya cooed over him, which wasn’t surprising of course, as she had little siblings of her own, but even Chloè, who had never been a fan of kids, had to admit Albert was adorable. 

Granted, she was mostly happy that he had helped her piece together the surprise the Ladyblog was putting together. 

Albert said goodbye as his dad gently dragged him away. Marinette gave him a little wave before turning back to her best friend and Chloè, giving them an apologetic smile. 

“I really need to get going. I promised Max I’d be over by noon to help him practice, but when you kidnapped me,” she fixated a slight glare on Chloè, who didn’t even bother to look remotely apologetic, “I rescheduled, but I’m about to be late again. I’ll talk to you later.” She gave Alya a quick cheek kiss and ran out, grabbing her coffee from Jacques as he approached their table. 

Chloè turned back to Alya who leaned back with her black coffee and a smug look. 

“Marinette’s working on her portfolio for ESMOD?”

The smug looked dropped, as Alya nodded, “How’d you guess?”

“I may act the dumb spoiled blonde,” Chloè pointedly ignored Alya’s whisper of  _ ‘act?’  _ to take the high ground for once, “but I’m not stupid. Plus, Adrien called it ‘Marinette’s project’ and it made sense.”

“That’s one of the reasons you can’t help, because you’re also applying to ESMOD too.”

Chloè shook her head, “I’m not actually. I have great taste and I’d be a great designer, but I don’t have the patience or dedication or ingenuity of Marinette.” She briefly wondered if she was laying it on so thick that she sounded insincere, but she actually did believe it. 

Alya seemed to accept it, “So what are you going to do?”

“Sasha and I are both looking to go to college in the States. Someplace in California, hopefully. I’m hoping for a degree in business and Sasha’s looking into a ton of different engineering schools.” She glanced over to the table in the corner, and this time, Alya followed her gaze and cheerfully waved Sasha and Sabrina over to their table. The two gladly obliged.

“Hullo, Alya” Sasha gave the girl a quick hug before sweeping over the give her girlfriend a loud smacking kiss on the cheek. Chloè scoffed, and pulled her in for a proper kiss. 

“So, Alya, how do the heroes of Paris fit in to all of this?” Sasha turned back and Sabrina and Alya quickly finished their brief catch up. 

“They’re the models, of course.” Chloè responded for her, and Alya nodded. 

“Earpiece?”

Chloè and Sasha tapped their matching earring in unison and nodded with matching grins, “So once again, what can I do?”

* * *

Marinette was hoping that her good luck would help her maybe arrive early to Max’s, but apparently her boyfriend’s signature bad luck rubbed off too much as she ran into the one other person she possibly had ever disliked more than Chloè Bourgeois. 

Lila Rossi. 

“Marinette!” Lila tried to sound excited but both girls knew it was as fake as the life the Italian tried to convince people she lived. 

“Lila!” Marinette exclaimed, but she knew she didn’t sound any more excited than Lila. 

Marinette did feel sorry for the girl, who on her first day in Paris and a new school, had been akumatized because of Marinette’s jealousy. She had felt guilty and the two had struck up a tentative friendship, but Lila’s intense dislike of her alter ego and Alya’s love of both Ladybug and the Ladyblog eventually made the already fragile friendship fall apart. Neither really were upset, but they still tried to remain on decent terms. 

At least until Reine Rena appeared. 

Alya had revealed herself to Marinette the same day she received the miraculous, knowing it was safe as she had deduced that Marinette was Ladybug somehow (she still refused to reveal how). She had asked for a redesign, so no one would ever mistake her for an akuma. Somehow Marinette had managed to do it overnight and Reine Rena made her debut the very next day, swooping in at the last moment to distract a nasty akuma who was angry about their story being rejected by the publisher. With a witty one liner, a flirty attitude, and an eagerness to talk to the reporters as long as possible, she quickly won over most of Paris. 

Except of course, for Lila Rossi. 

Lila had been reakumatized, the first ever to do so, and wreaked havoc on Paris, intent on getting the real fox miraculous for herself. She somehow managed to separate the team from each other, but Reine Rena, using her special ability to make her illusions real, was able to subdue her with a pack of wolves, snatch her fake necklace, and rush to find Ladybug with Lila hot on her heels. 

It wouldn’t have been super terrible, if Lila hadn’t been reakumatized six more times before Reine Rena appeared in her room and had a little chat with the girl. Lila was akumatized once more, and Alya refused to let anyone else help her defeat her, and also refused to let Ladybug use Lucky Charm. 

The damage of Paris had been minimal, but Lila came to school the next morning with a broken arm and nose and an uncharacteristically subdued attitude. She continued to express her dislike for the heroes of Paris, especially Reine Rena, but she was never akumatized again. 

Judging by the way Lila was glaring at Marinette’s scarf, a knit creation with two pointed ends made to look like the head and tail of a fox, the girl still hated the hero. 

“How’ve you been, Marinette?” Lila’s tone revealed she had given up all pretense of politeness. 

“Busy with my applications, mostly. You?”

“I’m moving again, so I’m busy packing. My mom’s going to be stationed in Switzerland now, but that’s too cold for me, so I’m going with my dad to Spain.”

“Do you know Spanish?”

“No, but it’s not too different from Italian.”

“That’s good. Lila, it was lovely seeing you, but I’m already late, so-”

“Of course!” Relief spread across Lila’s face as she awkwardly waved goodbye and scurried away, and Marinette let herself relax as she walked the other direction. 

“Tikki, that was the most awkward encounter in my life.”

The kwami’s voice was muffled from her place in the scarf, but years of companionship helped Marinette decipher what she said. “What about class the day after you and Chat figured everything out?”

Marinette shuddered at the memory. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'd like to thank everyone who comments - you guys are the real heroes :)


	8. Surprising compliments

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Who even knows what's happening anymore?

Nino tested out a beat in the midst of the secret “superhero lair” that the four friends had managed to make. It was an old apartment, out in some mostly abandoned part of town, that they used as home base. While Adrien had paid for most of it, they all had saved up some money to buy a mini fridge, coffee maker, a couch, a working toilet, and of course, a giant television and the newest gaming system. Marinette had brought her old sewing machine, Alya usually kept a laptop in the corner, and Nino used the relative emptiness of the area to test out his music and learn guitar. 

He shook his head, and replayed the short melody, changing one note. “Better?” He asked Adrien, who sat at the couch looking through Alya’s laptop. 

“Definitely. It’s smoother but still defined.”

“What about this?” Nino played two more short melodies, varying only by one or two notes, “I’m thinking the second.”

Adrien shook his head and Plagg and Wayzz flee out from where they had nestled in his hair. “The first one goes with the other riff better. Play them together.”

Nino did, and nodded, even though he knew Adrien couldn’t see him, “I have this sample of the new Jagged Stone song to mix with it. Should it blend with the beginning or pick up sharp at the end?”

“Try it both.” Nino began to mess with his computer when his phone rang. 

“Hey, babe. What’s up?”

“Chloè is being super persistent about helping out, can we give her something to do?”

Adrien perked up and mouthed for Nino to turn on speaker phone. “Did the bribe work?”

“What bribe?” Nino looked at Adrien in confusion. 

“She got us Tiffany jewelry. Tiffany’s, Nino. We can’t say no to that.”

“Well how would you make it work?”

“Mari keeps everything under control, Adrien supervises, and she gets to meet Reine Rena and Jade Turtle. We fake an engagement to explain our absences and let her be the photographer. Easy peasy.”

“You positive that it would all work out?” Adrien pulled Plagg off of his head as the kwami tried to settle in with some cheese. 

“We can make it happen and it gets her off Marinette’s back. I haven’t talked to Mari yet though.”

“Is she still at Max’s?”

“Yep. They are trying to concentrate but Kim and Alix are trying to distract them.”

“What are they doing there? I figured Max would want to focus with the competition in just a week.”

“Apparently they’re meeting Kim’s new boyfriend and passing judgement. Mari said she’s leaving before the bloodbath.”

“What happened with Sophie? I thought everyone liked her.”

“She dumped him so Alix egged her window and Max hacked her instagram.” Alya started to say something, but her voice cut out. 

“Foxy?”

“Ya, I’m good. Just hit a patch of no service and a mountain of snow. Mari said she ran into Lila.”

Adrien laughed, “How did that go?”

“What do you expect?”

* * *

Despite her best efforts, Chloè was unable to hide her excitement. She had restrained herself from jumping up and down and screaming in happiness as Reine Rena and Jade Turtle dropped though the skylight, but holding back all that energy meant she was actually vibrating enough that it was hard to look directly at her. 

She lost all control when Reine Rena held out her hand with a smirk, “Hey, Bourgeois.”

Chloè responded by launching herself at Alya, not that she knew it, and enveloping her in a bear hug, squealing “I’m your biggest fan!”

It took both Adrien and Marinette to pull the blonde off of her, as Nino laughed his head off in the corner. Of course, it was his turn next. 

While Chloè seemed immune to the charm that had captivated the rest of Paris, she was still a huge fan of Jade Turtle. After all, he had accidentally introduced her to Sasha when he had deposited the two together in a safe place during an akuma attack. The akuma had been hoping for a Valentine's night date, and had asked both Chloè and Sasha, along with another twenty plus girls. Sasha had politely told him she was a lesbian, another girl said she already had a boyfriend, yet another said she was busy that night, and Chloè, of course, was Chloè. 

Chloè had become very interested in Sasha after she explained why she had rejected the akuma, and the rest was history. 

So while Chloè didn’t tackle Jade Turtle in a bear hug, she did vigorously shake his hand while squealing “I’d like to thank you again for introducing me to the greatest girlfriend in the entire world and while you always say it was an accident I know that you remembered me from previous akuma attacks and really knew we would be the most perfect couple in the history of the world and we’re going to go to school together in California and-”

“Wait, you’re going to school in California?” Adrien interrupted, and Marinette was shocked that Chloè hadn’t shared that little piece of information with her oldest and dearest friend, but had with Alya and herself. 

Chloè at least had the decency to look somewhat sheepish, or at least as guilty she could look, “I haven’t been accepted yet, but isn’t that really just a formality? I was going to tell you!”

“Later, okay? Let’s talk about it later.”

Chloè nodded, and let go of Jade Turtle’s hand. “So where’s Alya and Nino?”

Marinette caught Alya’s smirk out of the corner of her eye, “Nino had a family emergency, and Alya figured that her being her would only cause problems. She’s usually the photographer, and she didn’t want to tell you how to do her job, even though it was her idea.”

Chloè’s eyes widened, “She said I should be the photographer?”

Adrien nodded.

“I figured you would just make me clean up trash, not actually help. I’ll have to thank her.”

It was lucky that Chloè’s back was turned to Reine Rena, because it would have been difficult to explain the utter disbelief on Alya’s face that Chloè had said she was going to thank  _ someone,  _ much less  _ Alya.  _

Then, the Chloè they all knew was back, and she ordered the heroes to go change into the clothes they would be wearing for the shoot, and when they reappeared, having done the whole transform into the design they had begun practicing as an extra layer of precaution, she didn’t even have one snotty comment about the cream patterned jumpsuit and sweatshirt that Reine Rena and Jade Turtle wore respectively. There was even a compliment! (“I like the pattern of the pant cuffs.”)

She wasn’t even that bad of a photographer, as Alya had feared. She understood how angles and lighting emphasized or detracted from certain features, and was able to position the heroes in such a way that they shone, but didn’t detract from the clothes. It was a very different style of photography from Alya’s, but that didn’t mean it was a bad one. 

Later, the four would decide that Chloè had learned all of this from maintaining a very popular instagram account, but in the meantime, they were confused that Chloè had a talent for something other than bossing people around and befriending some of the nicest people in the world (Adrien was sunshine personified, Sabrina was too nice for her own good, and Sasha was the sweetest person any of them had ever met, excluding Rose.)

* * *

“I thought the snow wasn’t supposed to get bad until next week,” Nino grumbled, using the bulk of his shoulders to block some of the snow burst for Rose and Juleka. He had ran into the two girls in the middle of their date, and as Rose was too sweet, he had been invited to join them. Juleka had made a show of being annoyed, but Nino had known her long enough that wasn’t actually all that upset. They had been walking to the Dupain-Cheng bakery for a snack when the blizzard hit.

Because it couldn’t just be a snowstorm like everyone had predicted. It had been an actual blizzard that had hit a week early, meaning no one was prepared. 

He managed to pull out his phone and call Alya, “Hey babe, it’s me.”

“Nino! Where are you? We’re all at the hideout waiting for you!”

“Okay good, you’re safe. I’m with Rose and Juleka - I ran into them at lunch. We were heading to Marinette’s for croissants when the storm hit, but now we’re just trying to get to Rose’s house, and then I was going to head over to yours.”

“Hang on, Marinette and Adrien can come get you. Then come back here.”

“Yes, ma’am. I love you.”

“Love you too, you dork.” 

Nino hung up and turned to the girls behind him, almost getting blown over by the sudden gust of wind. “Alya’s working with Ladybug and everyone to get people home, and she said she would send them our way.”

Juleka nodded, “Let’s try to get somewhere less in the open.” Rose pulled her closer, and the two huddled together as Nino pulled them to a nearby alley that was Adrien’s favorite place to transform.

They heard the zipping of a magic yoyo a couple minutes later, and Ladybug dropped in front of them, wearing both her winter suit and an extra parka and snow boots. She yelled something to them, but the wind drowned out her voice. Nino walked out an extra couple steps.

“Nino!” Relief swept across her face, “Chat isn’t far behind. We’re going to get Rose and Juleka home and then come back for you. Understand?”

He nodded just as Chat Noir dropped from the sky, wearing a similar parka and Agreste brand snow boots. He grabbed Rose by the arm as Ladybug grabbed Juleka, and the heroes disappeared into the blizzard. Nino took the opportunity to transform, and left for the hideout. Luckily, it wasn’t far. 

He immediately understood why Adrien and Marinette had added the extra layers and boots. Even in his extra warm winter suit, the wind still whipped right through him and chilled him to his bones. He thought he was going to freeze to death by the time he dropped onto the balcony of their hideout and stumbled into the room. Alya stood up immediately and grabbed a steaming thermos. 

“Drink this.” He took a giant gulp and immediately spat it out. It was coffee, as he had expected, but there was something else unexpected.

“What’s this?”

“Irish coffee. It warms you up faster.”

He shrugged and continued to drink, ignoring the slight bitter taste.

“Okay, you stay here and watch the Ladyblog, and call us when someone needs help. I’m going to go out for a bit. Marinette has the next shift, then Adrien.” She gave him a quick kiss, transformed, put on the parka and snow boots sitting by the laptop, kissed him again, and disappeared out the window.

Nino settled by the laptop and began texting his fellow heroes about the people stranded for the next half hour or so until Marinette stumbled in, holding his thick snow jacket and snow boots in her hands. He held up the thermos to her, “Just so you know, there’s alcohol in this.”

“I know,” her teeth chattered as she reached for the thermos, and he took his winter gear. “Hope you don’t mind that I broke into your room.”

“Not at all.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hopefully this is still fun for other people!


	9. Adrien is 100% Team Instinct

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which I try to create kwmai mythology

They only found out that Alya had posted the first preview of the shoot a couple hours before the blizzard had picked up in earnest. It had been mostly ignored at the time, as Parisians were worried about making it home and ensuring their friends and family was safe and warm to pay much attention, but the news of the heroes’ work during the blizzard was only barely covered more than the preview. 

She had taken one of Marinette’s pictures and cropped out everything above the waist, leaving the dark pink skirt, the black and white polka dotted tights, and the velvet booties in the same color as the skirt. The only thing that identified her as Ladybug was the spotted yoyo, which left a slight trail of magic in it’s wake as it swept across her ankles. And her famous signature in the bottom corner. 

Alya had added a five day countdown on the Ladyblog, which would have surprised no one who kept up to date with Paris’s heroes. She had released her carefully edited and pre-recorded interview with Reine Rena a couple of days before, with Nino playing the part of Alya via magic illusions. 

The interview had been fun, but Alya had been careful to keep it short so no one would have the chance to realize anything different about “Alya.” Still, she promised the surprise in seven days, and an interview with Ladybug still to come, and the internet went wild. 

With four days left, she posted the first picture they had ever took, the one of Adrien in the Venetian mask and paw print tie, holding a rose between lipstick stained lips, and looking past the camera at Marinette like she was the only thing in the world that mattered. 

That picture of Chat Noir almost beat #jadrien, which Nino used as an opportunity to remind Alya that the boys were winning on two counts. She retaliated by releasing pictures of Jade Turtle eating pizza as Michelangelo the Ninja Turtle. It was an incredible costume, designed by Mari of course, that Nino had been hoping to debut at Halloween in two weeks. 

While the picture was super popular, it did bring Jade Turtle’s effortless “cool” into question. It was the sheer and utter betrayal of this act that had the couple not kiss for the longest time since they had been together, excluding times separated due to distance or an akuma attack. The power couple refused to lock lips for an entire  _ twelve hours,  _ and Adrien and Mari were shaken by the lack of PDA. 

Granted, the two made up, or better put, made out, giving Marinette a chance to express her anger at Alya for releasing her designs early. 

She wasn’t that angry, but it did give her an excuse to refuse to do Alya’s ridiculous stunt in an attempt to beat #jadrien. Meaning there was nothing in the way of her and Adrien’s plan, whatever it was. She hit his arm thinking about it. 

“Hey!” He hissed at her, and she leaned close to him. 

“Are you going to tell me what our plan is?”

In the dark of the movie theater, she couldn’t see him shake his head, but she knew her partner well enough to know he had. She could practically hear him smirking. 

“That would spoil the surprise, Bugaboo.”

“If I told Alya. Which I won’t.”

She watched the light from the screen glint off his ring, which he was fidgeting with. Her eyes narrowed. He only messed with the miraculous when he was nervous. 

“Minou,” she growled.

“Trust me, Mari. It’s going to be amazing.”

“I trust you with my life. I’m not quite sure I trust you with my dignity.”

He made a slight gasp.

“It’s true! You made me get social media, and post videos of us playing Pokemon Go! The entire world watched me jump into the Seine to catch a Squirtle!”

“The fans wanted to know what teams we were!”

“It was embarrassing! And you still haven’t convinced me it was necessary.”

“It reminded everyone we were teenagers. Not just superheroes.”

She shrugged, and Adrien leaned close to nuzzle her neck. Marinette reluctantly scratched behind his ears, and he made a low purring sound. 

She was glad the only other people were an old couple in the front and Adrien had a love for old black and white movies. She wouldn’t have guessed he ranked them in the same category as his favorite animes. 

“Remember how happy that one boy was when we took him to the top of Notre Dame to catch a Raichu?” Marinette smiled at the memory and he squeezed her tighter, “That’s what makes it all worth it.”

* * *

While Adrien and Marinette had managed to escape from a frantic Alya, who was beginning to realize she had only given herself half as much time as she needed to edit in her excitement to share the pictures, Nino was stuck playing the role of dutiful boyfriend, bringing her cookies and coffee when she snapped her fingers. 

He had offered to help, and she had pushed not only him, but also Wayzz and Trixx, out of the room, slamming the door behind her.

Wayzz had taken the opportunity to catch up on his shows, and Trixx had been hoping to join him when Nino had carefully snatched her out of the air. He had slid a cup of coffee over to her and folded his fingers. 

“What are Alya and Marinette planning?”

Trixx ignored him until he slid over one of those energy bars she loved, to which she squealed, knocking over the coffee in her haste to get to the s’mores bar.

He pulled it away, “You can have it after you tell me what they’re planning.”

“This probably constitutes as animal abuse.”

“You’re a tiny god.”

She gestured to herself with her tiny paws, “That looks like an animal!”

Nino groaned and waved the bar in his hand.

“I don’t know what they’re planning. In fact, I don’t think they’re planning anything.”

“How is that possible? Alya’s been telling me she has an amazing plan for the past two weeks! Marinette’s been teasing me too!”

Trixx stared at him as if he was stupid, “You do realize that foxes are tricksters, right?” He made a face at her and she sighed, slowly floating over to the spilled coffee. “They couldn’t think of anything, so they don’t have a plan. And Alya’s so busy now, they aren’t going to have time to do anything. I think Ladybug is planning something with that alley cat of hers.”

“Adrien would never betray me.” Nino said with conviction. His face went pale mere seconds after he spoke, realizing that yes, his best friend would betray him in a heartbeat over this.

He was so horrified by the thought that he didn’t notice Trixx had stolen the energy bar from his hand until she cursed trying to open it.

At least he was assuming she cursed, as whatever she said was said harshly in another language just loud enough for Wayzz to look up from the phone and admonish her with a horrified “Trixx!”

Nino debated between the hilariousness of watching her struggle to open it and the knowledge that he could blackmail her later if he helped her out now. He chose the later, and Trixx grudgingly thanked him.

“Do you know what Adrien and Marinette are planning?”

She shook her tiny head. 

“Can you find out?”

“How would I even do that?”

“I know Tikki and Plagg can read each others minds and communicate mentally. I’m sure Plagg knows, hell, it was probably his idea! Can’t you read his mind?”

“Nino!” Wayzz floated over to his chosen, “That’s not very turtle of you!”

Trixx grinned, her tail flickering back in forth as she stared at the other kwami, “No, but it is very foxy of him.” She suddenly tacked Wayzz, the two spinning head over tails across the room. Wayzz ended up on his stomach, Trixx lounging across his shell. “Nino, you remember how Tikki and Plagg are two sides of a coin? Yin and Yang?” He nodded. “Good. So really, it would be more appropriate to say they are one being split into two. That’s why Tikki and Plagg can read each others minds, and that’s why one is never awoken without the other. The rest of us are different. Wayzz, care to explain?”

“If you get off of me.” Trixx spun away, and the little turtle slowly pulled himself up. “Do you remember the order of the miraculous stones?”

“I know the Black Cat and the Ladybug are in the center, and I think the Bee and the Fox are next to each other, but I’m not sure. Why does that matter?”

“The order goes Fox, Bee, Turtle, Peacock, Butterfly, and it’s very important, Nino. While the Ladybug and the Black Cat are partners, the rest only have others that complement them. Each complement is the two on the other side of the circle.”

Trixx floated down next to Nino, using her magic to create a replica of the box Master Fu had once shown Nino. “Take the Fox. I have two complements, Wayzz and Duusu. I am many things: trickery, cleverness, pride, guidance, illusion, etc. In many of these ways, Wayzz is the same. He is wisdom and support, but he is also steadfast where I am flighty, and defends when I attack. My relationship with Duusu is the same. We are both proud, and Duusu may stand for honesty, but he is a trickster too. But he is forever noble and inspiring, while I play dirty and tear people down. Wayzz complements me when Duusu does not.” Trixx studied Nino, “If the Peacock miraculous hadn’t been lost, you could have been Duusu’s”

Wayzz made a strangled gasp and flew to Nino, clutching his ear, “How dare you! Nino is mine!”

Trixx’s eye dot rose, “Kwamis don’t get along well with those on either side of them in the order. Wayzz and Duusu for example. Or me and Nooroo. Neither of us like Buzzi.”

“Nooroo isn’t that bad.” Wayzz grumbled.

Trixx opened her mouth to retaliate when Wayzz added, “Remember that you can’t be too mean to him. He was captured by Hawkmoth.”

She snarled at him, and they could hear her grumble “I wouldn’t have let myself get captured.”

“Trixx!”

She was quiet.

Something dawned on Nino, “Wait, why would I have been a Peacock if I’m a Turtle? Wouldn’t I have been a Fox or a Butterfly?” 

“I liked you from the beginning, Nino!”

“We know, Wayzz!” Trixx flew up to Nino, grabbing his nose with her tiny paws. “Theoretically, yes. But Master Fu was looking for someone to be Alya’s partner. The Fox is incredibly difficult to find a host for, and my girl was the only one meant to be the Fox, but she wasn’t ready in time and Ladybug and Chat Noir needed help.”

“You were always a strong contender for any miraculous. For a long time he wished he had the Peacock to give you, and he even considered the Black Cat.” Nino’s eyes widened at Wayzz’s words. “Never the Bee though. Don’t worry, we soon realized you were a Turtle.” Wayzz patted Nino’s cheek. 

“But Master Fu was already a Turtle.” Trixx nodded.

“Both Wayzz and Fu knew they had to move on, and the Turtle was the only option. Because while you and Alya aren’t soulmates in the same way the Ladybug and the Black Cat are, you are made for each other.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I'm thinking this is going to wrap up in maybe three chapters? I'm having a lot of fun writing this, but I'm running out of filler flush. There's still going to be the Ladybug interview, Adrien's surprise, and the actual shoot being released, but that's the majority of plot left. I am thinking about drawing some of the stuff described, mostly because I sketched it to help me envision it in the first place. Anything you want to see/read, let me know!


End file.
